Cheating at
poker has progressed over the years. Whereas the supposed problem in the Old
West was slick dealers stacking the deck and players sliding a hidden Ace into
their hand the most usual cheating today is team play. Simply put team play can
be used to run a player out with multiple raises or raise a team mate’s big
hand so he wins a bigger pot. Somewhat more complex play is available almost
exclusively on the Internet where 3 or 4
players tell each other what they have via phone or Internet. This allows a
player to know certain things. That is, if three guys threw away an Ace and an
Ace flopped then the fourth player’s pocket Kings is good and he knows it.
That’s a bit simplistic but it shows my point. And if you can get say 20 extra
small and big bets in per session that’s $720 in a 20-40 game going to your
stack.
In live
games that is almost impossible. But two people playing together is not. A
buddy raises before the flop. Four people call.
The flop comes. The bettor bets and the raiser raises again. One other
player calls. The bettor reraises… and the player in the middle mucks his hand.
If the cheaters are smart they bet/call to the River when one bets and the
other folds. The dumber ones just check the hand down and one shows his hand
and the other folds. A few instances of that and the smarter players at the
table either get up and leave or complain, sometimes loudly, to the Floor
Person supervising the game.
Unlike the
Old West, cheating in casino card rooms is mostly ignored. While checking the Nuts in a tournament to
your friend, if detected, will get you a penalty, team play may get a warning
from the Floor Person but in 99% of the cases, nothing else. Why? Because it is
hard to prove, slows the game, which hurts the rake and creates dissension. The
casino doesn’t want that so they will mostly ignore it unless is way out of
line and very obvious.
Worse, many
people see nothing wrong in two buds soft playing in tournaments as well as
ring games although multiple complaints sometimes bring banning.
Which is
better than “Go for your gun, sidewinder!”
But what to
do?? My solution is make suspects show both hands if there is a bet and call,
or if both suspects check. And complain to the Floor Person, quietly if
you don’t want controversy. Or just bring the subject while talking to another
person. Sometimes just the subject being aired stops it. But if it doesn’t stop, pick up your chips
and leave. You can’t beat that game.
